3901 Moran Street
Ebenezer German Baptist Church, International Order of Odd Fellows Columbus Hall, Christ Temple Baptist Church of Detroit
Most structures in Detroit have seen drastic changes; however, none may be more unique than the view from the front doors of Ebenezer Baptist Church at 3901 Moran Street.
According to the 1897 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, there was nothing on this parcel that year. In 1898, the Ebenezer Baptist Church was founded in a frame structure at the intersection. I’m not certain they built the structure; however, it was their home for their early history. Leland and Moran Streets weren’t yet blocked off, with the former going all the way to Gratiot Avenue.
In November 1903, the church was home to German Thanksgiving Services. The neighborhood still had a high percentage of German residents at the time, and the parish was German Baptist.
By 1904, the church was run by Reverend William Appel. In October, he addressed the Baptist Ministers’ meeting on the subject of dangers to the ministry.
In February 1905, a concert was given by the young members of the church, and Reverend William Appel addressed the attendees. The event was hosted at the Railroad YMCA on the west side at Livernois and Southern.
Railroad YMCAs around the country served the communities they resided in; however, their primary purpose was to provide lodging and community space for railroad workers. When rail was king, it wasn’t uncommon for train workers to be in town for a few hours or a couple of days. I’m not certain when the Railroad YMCA at Livernois and Southern was demolished; however, Southern Avenue was renamed after city councilman John Kronk in March 1954 after his death while still in office.
By March 1906, the church at Moran and Leland was up for sale. Ebenezer Baptist Church built a new building at Mt. Elliott and Canfield in 1906 and had moved there by 1907. The congregation would move again by 1949. I believe this congregation still exists and meets at 21001 Moross as Grace Community Church.
The 1910 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map listed the structure as the International Order of Odd Fellows, or IOOF, Columbus Hall. By the 1915 edition of the map, it was listed as the Amity & Columbus Lodge. The IOOF had multiple lodges around Detroit.
At this point, both Moran and Leland Streets still went through; however, the industrial section of Gratiot Avenue bounded its intersection with Superior continued to grow, with the Koppitz-Melchers Brewing Company, Kolb-Gotfredson Horse Company Horse Market, and the American Auto Trimming Company all expanding between 1910 and 1915. What was once a quiet neighborhood right off Gratiot was quickly becoming industrialized and radically changed by the advent of the automobile.
In addition to handling Odd Fellows business, the hall was home to neighborhood events and rented by various other East Side groups. The Cadillac Chapter of the American Insurance Union, Protected Home Circle (a fraternal insurance society) Lodge No. 29 Germania Circle, and Protected Home Circle Lodge No. 233 Pingree Circle all held events here. Films on baseball were shown here, photographs from recent trips to Europe were on display, and various other community events were common at the Columbus Hall.
Eventually, the good times ended, and the IOOF moved away or disbanded. From the newspaper archives, it seems like the old guard died out in the 1930s, and so did the post.
The structure was labeled as a store by the 1949 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map. The entire area down Moran Street (which is now closed off and full of semi-trucks) was still all homes without a single vacant lot. Leland Street still went to Gratiot, but the manufacturing facility that once housed the Kolb Gotfredson Horse Company, the American Auto Trimming Company, and part of the Koppitz-Melchers Brewing Company had been sold to the Faygo Beverage Company and expanded down Alexandrine Street. Faygo purchased the property in the 1930s and has been there ever since, though the structure looks nothing like it would have today. At one time, this small corner of Detroit had Faygo, Dossin Food & Beverage, and Coca-Cola Bottling. Likely, most of the workers at these plants were from the neighborhood surrounding it. Only Faygo, a strip mall with a Save A Lot, and other stores remain today.
There’s a long period where I’m unsure what happened at the structure pictured here. In 1975, there was a funeral that placed Beulah First Baptist Church at the location.
In 1982, Christ Temple Baptist Church of Detroit was founded by Reverend Bynum Turner. By 1983, the church’s registered address had changed to 3901 Moran Street, pictured here. The registered address changed a few times over the years; however, I believe the church occupied the structure until recently. The nonprofit was dissolved in December 2024. That said, the congregation still meets at the church under the last registered agent of that entity, Reverend Arthur Manning. Likely, there’s a new nonprofit that I haven’t been able to find.
From the church’s live streams on Facebook, it appears to be in fairly solid shape inside.
Since at least the early 2000s, the lot next to the former IOOF Hall has been used as parking for Faygo. At some point after the summer of 2013, the street was closed, and it was transitioned from regular parking to semi-packing to serve the Faygo loading dock. Leland Street has been closed longer, as Faygo now uses the former thoroughfare as employee parking.
Hopefully, this century-and-a-quarter-plus-old structure can continue to serve the neighborhood for decades to come.
